


Inquiry

by gothamsoul (roughknuckles)



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Justice League, Young Justice
Genre: Confrontations, Justice Tower, Kissing, M/M, Possibly Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-10
Updated: 2007-07-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2114034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roughknuckles/pseuds/gothamsoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Kents have a long standing history of managing Waynes"</p><p>Batman confronts Conner about the nature of his relationship with Tim.</p><p>[relevant story arcs: none]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inquiry

When Batman leaves the lab, no one stops him to make small talk. It's essential, whatever he is doing, his time is limited and valuable to the League, so no one interrupts him.  
   
Walking down the hall, Batman cuts through the Archer and the Canary in their heated verbal battle. He ignores them, signalling out instead a young man in jeans and a t-shirt eating cereal in the cafeteria.  
   
"If you lie to me. I'll know." Batman says to Superboy, eyes sharply narrowed on the clone.  
   
"Lie?" Conner's spoon hovered half way between his lips and the bowl, dripping sugary milk on the table top. "Um ... about what?"  
   
"Are you dating Tim?"  
   
Conner's black eyebrows rose, "Tim?" he repeated, a farm-boy blush creeping across his cheekbones.  
   
"You don't need to repeat the question." Batman continued to stare down the young man. "Just answer it."  
   
"Okay, I-" Conner edged closer, dropping his spoon back down into the cereal bowl. "sort of don't know, exactly." Batman was going to kill him, hard. "You might want to ask him, because he seems to know."  
   
"Robin dictates the relationship. Very well." That was acceptable. He gave no words of caution or warning, issued no threats ... but they were present even so in the silence that remained after Batman walked away.  
   
Conner stood, looking around at how everyone else in the cafeteria was trying not to look at them. "Look, can we talk about this somewhere that's not ... here? This is sort of ... public."  
   
Unless Conner intended to sing and dance his feelings on the tables, Clark and Conner were the only ones with the ability to listen in on them in the first place. "There's nothing more to talk about."  
   
"Wait, so you stormed over here to make sure that Robin is the one calling the shots!?"  
   
Batman kept walking down the hall. "You're shouting." He pointed out, since he was the one who seemed concerned about calling attention to the subject.  
   
"I'm not ... hey, wait a minute." He caught up, easily, standing in front of Batman, able to see eye to eye without effort. "Wait a minute. I'm not shouting. Why is it only okay if he's in charge?"  
   
"That's how I've trained my boys to be."  
   
"Well we're not exactly dating," Conner frowned. "No, no. This bugs me, and I'm not even sure why. Tim and I are not exactly dating, we're just ..." Oh man. Awkward.  
   
It didn't matter whose clone he was, Batman pushed Superboy up against the wall, pressing his arm against Conner's chest. "Choose your words very carefully."  
   
Conner's eyes widened and he put a hand against Bruce's arm. "Hey, I wasn't going to say anything ... disrespectful." He glared a little, the same expression Clark wore when Bruce did something that offended seven eighths of the entire world.  
   
"Get back to your breakfast, Conner, your cereal is getting soggy."  
   
Conner shook his head, not backing down. "You don't get to pull me aside, interrogate me, and then send me back to my cereal like I'm some kind of bad kid who needed a talking to. What I do with Tim is between Tim and me. You're probably only asking me because he wouldn't tell you, right?"  
   
"Isn't that the sort of attitude you should have maintained from the beginning?" Batman suggested.  
   
"You surprised me!"  
   
"Not inspiring much confidence, Conner. You revealed a very personal, vulnerable secret because you were surprised."  
   
"You're just one big never ending test, aren't you?"  
   
"Had I been under the influence of magic, collecting information or a shape-changer in disguise ... You would have just given me a target." Batman again, walked away.  
   
"What the ..." Conner followed him, not giving up. "What would you have done if I just said no, that nothing's going on between Tim and I?"  
   
Batman stopped before the entrance to one of the sleeping quarters, but did not open the door. Neither did he look at Conner, but instead stared at the wall ahead of him. "I would have asked you to meet me in my room in ten minutes."  
   
"What?" Conner's face twisted in confusion and then ... realization. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait ... this is some test, isn't it?"  
   
"Soggy cereal." Batman reminded the young man once more before opening the door to his room.  
   
Conner followed Batman inside, his face bright and a little frustrated. "I don't care about the damn cereal. What the hell are you doing to me here?"  
   
"What does it feel like, what's your impression?" Bruce asked, pulling back the cowl once he was in the privacy of his room.  
   
It always surprised Conner, no matter how many times he saw it how handsome Batman ... Bruce really was under the mask. Weird that anyone would put a dark, heavy mask over a face like that. "That you're just screwing with my head."  
   
"Why would I do that?" Bruce asked casually, gathering his work from earlier that day.  
   
"Because you get off on it," Conner replied, crossing his arms over his ample chest.  
   
Bruce turned his head and smirked, "Perhaps I do."  
   
Conner went bright red and shook his head, "Huge surprise. You and mind-games. You just told me that to see what my reaction was, didn't you? You'd never actually go through with it ... probably not with anyone."  
   
Bruce lifted his head and arched an eyebrow at the young man attempting to tell him off. "It? Say what you mean."  
   
Conner took a few steps closer, challenging. What the hell, he must have been feeling a little suicidal today. "Sex. You'd never actually sleep with anyone because you'd have to give up a little control to do it."  
   
"Is that so." Bruce said bluntly, facing Conner. "No exceptions?"  
   
"No. I seriously cannot imagine you even thinking about letting someone touch you," Conner frowned, glaring a little. "Let alone touching anyone else to try and make them feel anything but intimidated. For a guy who runs around defending the innocent, you can be a hell of a bully."  
   
Instead of looking defensive or cross, Bruce appeared to be amused, or at least relaxed with Conner telling him off like this. "Is that all or can I get back to work."  
   
"Yeah," Conner rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's all. And Tim and I aren't dating. We had sex. Once, and now he won't talk to me about it. I wonder who he learned that from."  
   
"Sex is not up for review." Bruce said, sorting his papers and memory disks into different piles on his desk, "You either repeat it, or you don't. It's not for discussion. And it's never to interfere with your work."  
   
"Jesus Christ ..." Conner laughed. "Verbatim. Whatever. Fine. I'm not dating Tim, because you've made him too screwed up to date anyone. Just like you."  
   
"That's not true." Bruce said calmly. "You Kents have a long standing history of ... managing Waynes."  
   
Conner stood at full height, jaw clenched, looking at Bruce with outrage. "Excuse me? What the hell does that mean?"  
   
No longer fooling around with his work, Bruce turned and walked towards Conner, eyes drawn to his, even as he kissed him.  
   
Conner's eyes went wide, but his posture broke and he gasped, stepping back as Bruce pressed their lips together. But Bruce didn't stop. Firmly pressing a hand to Conner's hip, he continued to kiss the young man, not letting up against Superman's clone.  
   
Conner could have thrown Bruce across the room if he wanted to, he could have torn his arms right out of their sockets ... but he just went still, not even breathing for a moment, tense and tight before he started to respond. Conner's hands went to Bruce's waist, fingering the kelvar plates of his suit as he tilted his head opposite Bruce's, kissing back, very, very slowly.

**Author's Note:**

> co-authored.


End file.
